Day: February 3, 2011

The independents are possibly among the hardest hit; with limited resources very little capital can be put towards development and innovation as it is all being put into the basic running and survival of the business. One way to tackle this is by joining forces with other independents and spreading the resources. In a small market like Ireland it will also bring down the number of individual players working against each other. This idea seems to have been bandied about over the years but very few seem willing to take the plunge. With this option the independence of the business is diminished, which can be quite an unattractive side effect.

I’m quoted (wearing my IPN hat) in the Irish Times today about the Waterstone’s closures in Dublin. Real shame those stores are closing:

Eoin Purcell editor of Irish Publishing News says the Dublin closures are particularly unfortunate given the city’s new title of Unesco City of Literature. “I think there is great sense among readers, writers and publishers that we are losing something. It is a real shame. People will miss it. The Dawson Street branch is a fantastic store with enormous range. Some books there you wouldn’t find in most stores. It has an amazing military history section, for example. You can find these books online but going to the shelf and browsing and looking through books – there’s nothing like it.”

Eoin Recommends

Really enjoyed this slice of sci-fi. Powerful sense of setting and character. Very clever use of multi-perspective but single mind characters to throw the reader into a new experience and to challenge the readers perceptions. Nice plot too, decent action and interesting philosophical questions raised to boot!

One of my all-time favourite first books of a series. This is epic in its vision and its scope, it is ambitious in it aims and smashes home with considerable forced. Reeve is to my mind one of the most underrated writers out there. The series weakens a little as it progresses, that I will allow, but Mortal Engines is a true classic that will stand the test of time and no doubt about it!